BAR: BAROLO GRILL
Barolo Grill, 3030 E. Sixth Ave., is Italy’s culinary ambassador to Denver. Opened in 1993 by Blair Taylor, this farmhouse of a restaurant was a hit from the first bite. The wine list is 1,500 bottles strong, overseen by front-of-the- house man Ryan Fletter. The bar is manned by Ryan O’Brien. Windows overlook Sixth Avenue, particularly lovely during a snowstorm. The two-top next to the fireplace is regarded as the most romantic table in town. Ten waiters and six chefs keep order in this busy place.
GRILLED: CHRIS WATNEY
Chris Watney, 40, is as energetic as she is earnest. As an only child, she spent her first five years in New Orleans, before the family moved to Lawrence, Kan. At 22, she started a career at the Justice Department and within four years was in Denver handling the press for the Oklahoma City bombing trials. She moved to Washington, D.C., to work for U.S. Attorneys General Janet Reno and John Ashcroft (where she handled press for the execution of Timothy McVeigh, which she also witnessed). Watney returned to Denver in 2001 to work on Tom Strickland’s unsuccessful U.S. Senate bid and took a job with the Colorado Children’s Campaign, a nonprofit that advocates for Colorado kids. These days, she is its president and chief executive, as well as a trained psychotherapist. She orders a glass of chardonnay.
BH: How did you end up at the Colorado Children’s Campaign?
Watney: I had a few interviews and conversations with them, but I wasn’t sure that the issue was the right one for me. I had been doing battles, political communications. This issue seemed awfully touchy-feely. But I came in for two weeks to help out, and I never left. And I still have my psychotherapist practice with adults and couples. But the Children’s Campaign turned out to be the perfect match for me. I am fighting a battle. I am feisty. I am fighting for the most important cause I could imagine, for our most vulnerable kids.
BH: Are children in trouble in Colorado?
Watney: Colorado went from 10 percent of our kids living in poverty in 2000 to 17 percent in 2008. Our trend is going quickly in the wrong direction.
BH: What was it like being an only child?
Watney: Only children seem to have a tendency to either feel a lot is owed to them or feel the weight of the world is upon them. I feel that I am responsible for my happiness, as well as making sure that my parents are taken care of. I was the kind of kid in kindergarten who saw the kids who didn’t fit in, and I was always the one who wanted to help them. It has everything to do with my career. I just feel so strongly for the underdog.
BH: This interview will come out on Thanksgiving. Are you thankful?
Watney: I am very thankful. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because it is about being thankful, and it’s also about the things I love — food and wine and family. And I always run a race on Thanksgiving morning.
BH: Do you have trouble asking people for money?
Watney: No. When you ask people for money you’re giving them an opportunity. They’re going to feel great when they do it.
BH: Why aren’t you saving the kids in Sudan, in Haiti, instead of Colorado?
Watney: I know there is great need around the world. But this is the battle I choose because I love this state and these are our kids.
BH: What about witnessing the McVeigh execution?
Watney: It was in Terre Haute, Ind., the first federal execution in 38 years. I was involved in how it would be handled. I spent a lot of time with the warden at the prison to prepare for it — but nothing really prepares you for that. It was very, very sad. McVeigh was the worst domestic terrorist in U.S. history, there is no denying that. But to see a person die and to know that it could have been different, I think that played into my decision to be a therapist. Things went terribly wrong for that family, and things went terribly wrong for the families of all the victims. In the end, I thought the whole thing was very sad, and it took me a while to get over it. I am very loyal to my work, and I thought I was being professional, but it did not serve me well. Several years later I found myself needing to sit down and talk to someone about it.
BH: Do you have any political ambitions?
Watney: No. None. I would never run for office.
BH: What’s your idea of perfect happiness?
Watney: Waking up in a tent.
BH: What trait don’t you like in other people?
Watney: Disrespect.
BH: What’s your greatest extravagance?
Watney: Jeans and gear.
BH: Where do you shop?
Watney: I like Patagonia and Arc’teryx. And Neptune in Boulder. I like very high-end gear. But I am sporty-girly. I also shop at Nordstrom and J. Crew.
BH: What’s your sign?
Watney: I am a Gemini. And the Gemini in me wants to be a therapist and work with one person at a time. And I also want to change the lives of children 1 million at a time. Both seem completely compelling to me. The Gemini in me wants to come to Barolo and drink the best wine out of a Riedel glass. And I also want to go to the woods and drink wine out of Nalgene.
BH: What’s your current state of mind?
Watney: I feel happy, inspired, engaged.
BH: Have you had a broken heart?
Watney: Yes. It’s not fun to have a broken heart or to break a heart. And I’ve done both.
BH: Do you exercise?
Watney: I run about 25 miles a week. I have run with the same friends at 6 a.m. every Tuesday and Thursday for the last eight years. About 4 miles. And then on weekends, I do a long one by myself. How great it is to run with the same people. You can’t hide anything from people at 6 a.m. We can all put on lipstick and pull it together by 9 a.m. But 6 a.m.! We have a single-degree rule. If the temperature goes under 10 degrees, go back to bed. Other than that I don’t miss it.
BH: Even with a hangover?
Watney: I have run through several hangovers.
BH: What do you dislike about your appearance?
Watney: I am very short. 5-foot-2. I could use some longer legs.
BH: What quality do you like in a man?
Watney: The ability to both build a fire and read The New York Times.
BH: Maybe he could use The New York Times to build the fire.
Watney: As long as he read it first.
BH: Who or what is the greatest love of your life?
Watney: The mountains.
BH: How techy are you?
Watney: I have a BlackBerry. I believe BlackBerrys are for highly functional people and iPhones are for people who like apps. iPhones are New York; BlackBerrys are D.C., for getting the job done. But I may be the last person in America to use a paper calendar. It drives everybody crazy.
BH: What’s your greatest achievement?
Watney: The things I have done with clients in therapy. Learning how to sit with discomfort has been a great achievement for me.
BH: Do you think you’ll get married?
Watney: I hope so.
BH: Do you want to have children?
Watney: I would never rule that out.
BH: What’s your most treasured possession?
Watney: My books.
BH: Who are your favorite writers?
Watney: Walt Stegner, John Steinbeck, Pam Houston.
BH: What do you most dislike?
Watney: Cellphones at dinner.
BH: Do you have a Facebook page?
Watney: No. No one wants to know when I’m washing my hair.
BH: Where would you like to live?
Watney: I would love to live in the mountains. I think I can do more working where I am, but I would love to live in the middle of nowhere.
BH: Motto?
Watney: Be able to look yourself in the mirror every morning.
Interview conducted, condensed and edited by Bill Husted: 303-954-1486 or bhusted@ .
